PRESS RELEASE: SECOND READING FOR PRIVATE MEMBER’S BILL C-539

Eat local; support the fruits of our local economy

SALABERRY-DE-VALLEYFIELD – MP Anne Minh-Thu Quach (Beauharnois-Salaberry) is proud to announce that her Private Member`s Bill C-539, which aims to promote the purchase of locally produced food, will receive Second Reading in the House of Commons by the end of March.

“Promoting locally grown food is very important for two reasons,” explains the MP. “Promoting local farming helps protect the environment by reducing the need to transport food. By the same token, we are investing in our regional economies: eating local helps grow your local economy.”

The goal of Ms. Quach’s bill is to create a nation-wide buy-local strategy and establish a procurement policy for all federal institutions. In doing so, we can support Canadian farmers, create jobs and reduce pollution caused by transportation.

“Since the bill was introduced on June 17th, 2013, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with several farming stakeholders,” says Ms. Quach. “Most of them agree that political will is a favourable and necessary condition to keep farming strong, vibrant and prosperous. It is time for the federal government to make a clear commitment and encourage our local farmers, who produce fresh, top-quality food.”

Several organizations already support Bill C-539, such as the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), Équiterre and the Regional Conference of Elected Officials of the upper Saint-Lawrence River Valley. Would you like to help this bill succeed? Your organization could adopt a resolution of support. You can also support the bill by signing the following online petition: http://anneminhthuquach.ndp.ca/eatlocal